What killed my chicken?

[hrhta812]

I have tried the predator identification site, but not sure of the culprit. Hoping someone else can help. I had my chickens out free-ranging, they stay close to their coop which is fairly close to the house. My victim was an 8 week old chick. She was not carried off, but killed and eaten at the spot of the kill. There were feathers scattered everywhere, most of her meaty parts were gone. The head was off, but not eaten. The feet were left and the right side of the body. There were some intestines left also. This attack was in the middle of the day. One other chick had a small bloody wound above her beak (not sure if related to the attack). I am confused because the predator did not carry her off. The other 9 birds were all huddled together about 30 feet from the attack. Other chickens in 2 separate pens were hidden in their shelters. My first thought is hawk, anyone else have an opinion. Regardless, my chickens will not be out of their pen for a while and then only under supervision.

Sounds like hawk, but I would also consider a large feral cat.

Quote:

I have a 4x8 coop with a large run for 13 chickens. 5 adult hens and eight 3 month old chicks. One spot in my run has plastic mesh on it - before you say anything, I know it's worthless. This morning I have 9 dead bodies in my coop. 3 chicks and 1 hen survived. The hen was severely injured with her whole back exposed. Skin was ripped from right shoulder/wing to her left hip. Horrible injury, but I cleaned out the feathers and put polysporin on it and I'm keeping her indoors. She can barely stand, she tries to stand and tips over. The other young hen seems to be limping. Her back has also been plucked clean, but no rips or exposed flesh - she is limping though and it feels like she has a broken rib possibly. The other two chicks are roosters and they're untouched. I never got to see the others, my father cremated them before I got there, I live in another community. He said there wasn't any blood, but there were a ton of feathers all over the place. I have a few theories on what massacred my babies, but it seems I'm likely wrong. From what I've read online it appears to be a dog. I can't see it being a dog in that area, because its the only house on that road. Literally, it's in the woods. So that makes me think it would more likely be a coyote - we have them in the province, but I've never heard of them in my area. As far as I know we don't have raccoons here, but there's been a wild cat scoping them out for a while. I am so devastated and I just want to know what to protect against. I've already secured the coop, so whatever it was wont get in that way again, but.. I just lost almost my whole family, and I plan on catching the culprit. I want to know what I'm looking for. Please, if anyone knows what kills multiple chickens, without eating them, plucks all the back feathers off and leaves without killing 2 severely injured birds on its own without getting scared off..

Multiple kills and birds left injured but alive does scream "dog" from everything I've ever read about predators. Next I would suspect a young coyote perhaps? Maybe a fox? Wild animals are usually hungry, though, so they will eat or take at least part of what they kill. A dog is not hungry but gets excited by the flurry and kills everything it can. We just trapped our 2nd fox in one week, after losing 5 birds this month. Ask around and see if anyone you know has a game camera you could borrow, so you can find out what it is. I'm very sorry for what's happened to you and your birds. That is just awful.

 

[blazerchicks]

It might have been a fox. A few days ago a fox got in and killed 8 bantams including 2 chicks who were in cages. the fox left no blood and no bodys execpt for a headless one in our neboirs drive way a short way off. it left many feathers around but not a lot for 8 chickens because of the way a fox kills 2 days afters the atack little foxy showed up agian an we capurted it fox in a racoon trap with the headless chicken and now it wont attack my chickens again. foxs can over 30 feet and will attack in day light or night time and can fit in many shall holes.

Can foxes climb fences? I lost six hens during the day. They were in a pen with five foot welded wire surrounding it. Feathers can be found in a few piles in and out of the pen, but only one body was found. I was thinking raccoon, but that seems strange to have a raccoon take that many during the day. Two of the hens were big too.

 

[quigley257]

Foxes, especially the Grays are quite agile climbers. I have seen Grays a long way up in trees searching for their next meal. Just google "fox in a tree" then select images to see what I mean...

 

[hrhta812]

Oh, yeah, foxes can climb quite well. Coons usually can't carry off a good size bird, so they eat and run. The fox likes carry out.

Our chicken coop run was vulnerable enough for the fox to get in, but the birds got stuck in the fencing when it tried to take them out. I was able to keep the fox from getting into most of the fence line by talking full size fence wire and bending it, at half length, and securing it along the bottom of the run, so that there is fence flat on the ground going out about 2 ft. from the where the bottom edge of the run. I zip tied the upper part to the fence posts and then we weighted it down with concrete blocks until I can use landscape spikes to secure it to the ground. We could see where the fox tried to dig, but the fencing secured to the ground kept it from getting anywhere. Some folks bury the wire around the outside of the run, but I needed a quick fix. It ended up getting in at the corner, where the fencing meets the barn because the connection there was weak.

 

[houseofknauss]

so sorry for everyone's losses. foxes will climb fences(red ones here) and are fast about it--they will come back over and over again and take away what they can.--

 

[lgrems]

I have tried an electric fence around the perimeter of the dog yard. Power source is 3.7 joules. Wire is yellow 1/2 " poly tape. Between the power and tape, which gives an audible and visual warning. Dogs learned the system very quickly. So too should fox. Try setting several lines in parallel around the coop and run.